Cupertino is a suburban city located in Santa Clara County, California, USA, on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 50,546.
Notable natives and residents of Cupertino include Primus drummer Brian Mantia, actor Aaron Eckhart, and basketball player Kurt Rambis.
Cupertino is located at 37°19'3" North, 122°2'31" West (37.317492, 122.041949) at the southern end of San Francisco Bay. The eastern part of the city, located in the Santa Clara Valley is flat while the western part of the city slopes into the Santa Cruz Mountains.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.3 km2 (10.9 mi2). 28.3 km2 (10.9 mi2) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.
Cupertino has mild weather with wet winters and dry summers. Oak and redwood forests cover the hills overlooking the Cupertino lowlands.
Averages in July (at Santa Clara University).
Averages in January (at Santa Clara University).
Extremes
Cupertino is sometimes referred to as the "heart" of Silicon Valley, as the worldwide headquarters for Apple (the creator of the famous iPod) is located here in a modern complex circled by the playfully named Infinite Loop. Other companies headquartered in Cupertino include Borland, NetManage, Packeteer, Portal Software, and Symantec. Over 60 high-tech companies have offices here, including Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Sun Microsystems. Most of these hi-tech companies are located on De Anza Boulvevard, Cali Mill Plaza, and Bubb Road.
Though Cupertino headquarters many hi-tech companies, very little actual manufacturing takes place in the city. The primary activities of those corporations' Cupertino branches are management and design.
In 2002, Cupertino had a labor force of 25,780 with an unemployment rate of 4.5%. The unemployment rate for the Santa Clara County as a whole was 8.4%.
Cupertino in the 1800s was originally a small rural village at the crossroads of the Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road and Stevens Creek Road. Back then, it was known as the West Side and was part of the Fremont Township. The primary economical activity was fruit agriculture. Almost all of the land within Cupertino's present-day boundaries were covered by plum, apricot, and cherry orchards. A winery on Montebello Ridge overlooking the Cupertino valley region was also operating by the late 1800s.
Soon, railroads, electric railways, and dirt roads traversed the West Side farmlands. Monta Vista, Cupertino's first housing tact, was developed in the mid-1900s as a result of the electric railway's construction.
After World War II, a population and suburban housing boom dramatically shifted the demographics and economy of the Santa Clara Valley as the "Valley of Heart's Delight" was beginning to convert into the "Silicon Valley". In 1954, Cupertino leaders began to drive for incorporation as they were concerned about unplanned development and rising property taxes. In the September 27, 1955 election, voters approved the incorporation of the City of Cupertino. Cupertino officially became Santa Clara County's 13th City on October 10, 1955.
A major milestone in Cupertino's development was the creation by some of the city's largest landowners of VALLCO Business and Industrial Park in the early 1960s. Of the 25 property owners, 17 decided to pool their land to form VALLCO Park, 6 sold to Varian Associates (property later sold to Hewlett-Packard), and two opted for transplanting to farms elsewhere. The name VALLCO was derived from the names of the principal developers: Varian Associates and the Leonard, Lester, Craft, and Orlando families. A neighborhood shopping center and, much later, the Vallco Fashion Park were also developed. Apple Computer, Symantec, and Portal Software also built their headquarters in Cupertino.
De Anza College soon opened. The college, named for Juan Bautista De Anza, occupies a 112-acre site that was the location of another winery built at the turn of the last century, called Beaulieu by its owners, Charles and Ella Baldwin. Their mansion has now become the California History Center. De Anza College then accumulated a total of 26,000 students and became the hub of activity in the city.
Housing developments were rapidly constructed in the following years as developers created many neighborhoods, including Fairgrove, Garden Gate, Monta Vista, and many other developments. Although originally low-cost housing, Silicon Valley's housing prices shot up dramatically as many houses that were formerly priced under $100,000 became million-dollar homes. The high cost of living in Cupertino can be seen in that neighborhoods with a median household income of $90,000 or $100,000 may have small, one-story houses that average 1,000 to 1,500 square feet in living space area.
Source:
CupertinoCalifornia.com
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